Slaughter and May is a British law firm headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1889 as an offshoot of Ashurst Morris Crisp (later Ashurst),[6] Slaughter and May is considered to be one of the most prestigious British law firms[7] and is a disputed member of the "Magic Circle", with many legal commentators no longer considering it a member.[8]The Lawyer in particular have noted that "Slaughter and May is far more like Macfarlanes tha[n] the magic circle quartet it is commonly lumped in with" and believe that Slaughter and May should rightly be considered part of the Silver Circle.[9] In addition to London, it has offices in Beijing, Brussels and Hong Kong.[1]
According to research conducted by The Lawyer, amongst the 30 largest UK 200 firms by revenue generated in London, Slaughter and May has the 4th slowest growth in profit per equity partner (PEP), third slowest growth in profit per lawyer (PPL), and 5th slowest growth in net profit over the last 5 years.[10] However, as of 2024, Slaughter and May maintains its position within the 10 largest firms by revenue generated solely in the City at 9th place (£562.0m) behind Linklaters, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Freshfields, Kirkland & Ellis, CMS, Latham & Watkins, and Herbert Smith Freehills.[11]
History
Slaughter and May was founded on 1 January 1889 by William Capel Slaughter and William May both previously of Ashurst Morris Crisp (later Ashurst).[5][12] The firm's first office was located at 18 Austin Friars in the City of London.[5] In 1974, the firm opened an office in Hong Kong, being the first London law firm to establish a presence there.[5] During the 1980s and 1990s, the firm acted on a number of privatisations in the United Kingdom, including those of British Airways, British Gas and British Steel Corporation.[5]
In 2002, Slaughter and May moved to its current London office at One Bunhill Row. Slaughter and May closed its New York office in September 2004 and its Singapore office in October 2004, instead referring its U.S. work to Wall Street firms and its Southeast Asia work to the Australian firm of Allens Arthur Robinson.[13] In December 2005, Slaughter and May agreed to cede its Paris office to the French law firm Bredin Prat.[14] In 2009, the firm opened an office in Beijing, China,[5] to focus mainly on M&A and outbound and inbound investment.[15]
In comparison to Magic Circle firms, Slaughter and May has a minimal overseas presence. Its international practice largely relies on relationships with local law firms in other countries, many of which themselves have minimal overseas presence, and thus do not compete with Slaughter and May. These closely associated firms have included Clayton Utz, Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Gilbert + Tobin in Australia;[16]Bell Gully in New Zealand; BonelliErede, Bredin Prat, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Hengeler Mueller and Uría Menéndez in continental Europe;[17] Shin & Kim and Kim & Chang in South Korea; and three of the Big Four law firms in Japan.[18]
Operations
In 2015 its partners earned the highest profit per equity partner (PEP) of any UK law firm.[19][20]
In 2015, the firm represented 33 clients on the FTSE 100 and 44 clients on the FTSE 250, more than any other firm at the time,[20] including governments, entrepreneurs, funds to leading banks, retailers, entertainment companies, industrial conglomerates and professional sports clubs.[21]
In London, Hong Kong and Beijing, Slaughter and May's core practice areas are mergers and acquisitions, corporate and financing work.[22]
In Brussels, its practice areas are competition, financial regulation, data protection, as well as trade issues raised by Brexit.[citation needed]
Carillion collapse
In May 2018, a report by a joint inquiry of members of the UK parliament criticized the firm for billing more than £8 million for legal advice to Carillion from when its dire financial position became clear in May 2017 to its eventual collapse in January 2018. Members of parliament said that "names such as Slaughter and May, Lazard, Morgan Stanley and EY were brandished by the board as a badge of credibility. But the appearance of prominent advisers proves nothing other than the willingness of the board to throw money at a problem and the willingness of advisory firms to accept generous fees". The report added that "by the end, a whole suite of advisers, including an array of law firms, were squeezing fee income out of what remained of the company. £6.4m disappeared on the last working day alone as the directors pleaded for a taxpayer bailout". Rachel Reeves, the Labour MP who chaired the Commons business committee, said that after the accountancy firms "it was Carillion's legal advisers who took the big payouts in the company's dying days".[23][24]
Notable clients and cases
During the 2007–2008 Financial Crisis, the firm advised HM Treasury with recapitalising and stabilising UK Banks.[25]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm advised HM Treasury on the government's emergency corporate covid financing facility (CCFF). The CCFF is intended to purchase commercial paper, a debt instrument, from companies in order to boost their liquidity.[26]
The firm advised the now liquidated British multinational construction company Carillion on asset sales, rescue bids and restructuring.[27]
In 2019, the firm advised Prudential plc and M&G plc on the demerger of M&G from Prudential.[28]
The firm advised GlaxoSmithKline on its high-profile joint venture with Novartis. The transaction received the 2015 Deal of the Year award by Financial News.[30]
